Tenant right
Your deposit must be legally protected
Your landlord must place your deposit in a government-approved protection scheme within 30 days and give you the prescribed information about it.
What this means
Within 30 days of receiving your deposit, your landlord must protect it in one of the three government-approved schemes: the Deposit Protection Service (DPS), myDeposits, or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS). They must also give you written confirmation — called the 'prescribed information' — of which scheme holds it.
Why it matters
If your deposit is not protected, your landlord cannot serve a valid Section 8 notice. More importantly, you can apply to court for a penalty of between 1 and 3 times your deposit amount.
At the end of your tenancy
Your landlord must return your deposit within 10 days of you both agreeing how much is owed. If there is a dispute, the scheme provides a free Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service — you do not have to go to court.
How to check
You can check all three schemes online for free using just your name, postcode, and tenancy start date. Links are in the Landlord Checker tool.
Official sources
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